FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University softball team welcomes Merrimack to Pioneer Park for a Northeast Conference-opening series on Saturday and Sunday, March 18-19. The series begins on Saturday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader before concluding on Sunday with a single game at noon. 

SHU VS. MERRIMACK GAME INFORMATION 
Game 1: Sacred Heart vs. Merrimack – Saturday, March 18; 1:00 p.m. Video | Live Stats
Game 2: Sacred Heart vs. Merrimack – Saturday, March 18; 3:00 p.m. Video | Live Stats
Game 3: Sacred Heart vs. Merrimack – Sunday, March 19; 12:00 p.m. Video | Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
Sacred Heart suffered two losses to Stony Brook in its 2023 home opener on Thursday. The Seawolves came out on top in game one, 3-2, despite being outhit 7-5 in the contest. Stony Brook pulled away late in game two on its way to a 5-0 victory, scoring all of its runs in the fifth inning and later. The Pioneers saw strong pitching efforts from both Sam Kowalski and Liv Vadas. Kowalski allowed just one earned run while striking out a season-high eight batters in the opener. Vadas went 4.0 innings in game two without allowing a run. 

LEADER OF THE OFFENSE
Senior Alyssa Gonzalez continues to be a staple of the Pioneers' offense throughout the season, as she tallied three hits against the Seawolves, including two doubles. Her RBI double in the first inning of game one helped SHU take the early lead. Gonzalez has a hit in her last six games, four of which were multi-hit outings. The Beaumont, Calif., native heads into this weekend's contests leading the NEC in home runs (5) and slugging percentage (0.838), the latter is the 28th-best mark in the country. 

STUDYING MERRIMACK
The Warriors have struggled to start the season, as they are 2-7 through their first nine games. Merrimack's two wins have come against UMBC and Brown, while it owns losses to then-No. 20 Auburn, Cornell, Charleston Southern, Brown, and Morgan State. Merrimack last competed at the Retriever Classic, hosted by UMBC in Baltimore, Md., defeating the host Retrievers, 9-4, in its finale on Sunday, March 12. Leading the way for the Warriors is sophomore Ellen Hubbard, who paces the team with a .423 batting average, 11 hits, and eight runs scored. Madison Cerpa has also done well to start the year, as she owns a .370 batting average with 10 hits, four runs, and a team-high eight RBI. In the circle, Bry Michitson paces the team with a 4.58 ERA and has tossed both of Merrimack's wins this year. 

UP NEXT
SHU hits the road for its next game, a non-conference showdown against Iona on Tuesday, March 21. The Pios and Gaels will play one game at 3 p.m. in New Rochelle, N.Y.